There are approximately 1,000 organisations in the UK technical textiles industry employing up to 40,000 people. 

Organisations cater for a wide range of high performance end-use markets, including construction, civil engineering, industrial applications, automotive/aerospace, medical applications and technical and high performance garments. Technical textiles are defined as:

• textiles, materials, fabrics and composites which are produced using textile technology and which are specified for a broad range of technical end-uses because of their performance characteristics

In technical textiles, the technical performance and physical properties of a product are more important than other features, such as colour, style, handle and price.

Output from the UK technical textiles industry is estimated to be £1.2 billion. It is forecast that the market for technical textiles will grow to 2010, but a 32% decline in output is forecast across textile manufacturing as a whole. 

The industry is stable with an optimistic outlook and makes a significant investment in the recruitment of young people, both graduates and school leavers.

It is estimated that the technical textiles workforce has a qualification profile that is slightly weighted towards the higher levels, but the significant number of operative staff suggests that the qualification profile of the workforce is broadly similar to the sector as a whole.

Issues that need to be addressed by the industry in the future include:

• fast changing markets
• competition from low cost imports
• relocation of customers overseas
• threat to intellectual property from overseas competitors
• adverse exchange rate movements
• threat to the UK higher education/research base

Source: Skills Needs Assessment – technical textiles 2005a